Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Using Private Emails Could Pose a Security Risk

A former CIA analyst explains.

Several senior White House aides, including President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump, have used private email accounts and encrypted messaging apps to communicate with each other, according to reports from Politico and Newsweek. Kushner’s lawyer confirmed that Kushner used a personal account on a private email domain set up for his family, but claimed there were fewer than 100 emails sent or received between January and August, and that he used it mostly to send news articles or political commentary to other members of the administration.

House Democrats are launching a congressional probe, ordering Kushner to preserve all of his emails pending a future request for copies of his communications. Meanwhile, chairman of the House oversight committee, Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy, called for the White House to disclose all the names, accounts, and cell phone numbers of any top administration officials who use private means of communication for government work.

Unless Kushner and other aides forwarded every message to their government email accounts, using a private email or encrypted apps for government business goes against the Presidential Records Act, requiring all documents related to the president’s activities to be archived, according to Politico. It would also skirt the Freedom of Information Act, a law that gives the public the right to request access to government records, including government email, so long as its release does not harm national security or personal privacy.

The Politico report said there isn't an indication that Kushner's private emails included classified information. The FBI investigated presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for months to determine if she mishandled classified information after it was reported she had used a private email account when she was Secretary of State. The FBI has not yet commented on Kushner.

Kushner’s representatives have refused to discuss the nature of the email server or the security measures put in place to protect his account, but an unofficial, unprotected server holding communications between top administration officials would make it a high-priority target for hackers, according to cybersecurity professionals. A private email domain would likely not have the same level of protection as a government system. Government agencies have dedicated IT staffs that monitor servers for possible vulnerabilities and security breaches, and update systems with the latest security patches.

His account would also be vulnerable to foreign intelligence agencies. As a former CIA analyst, I see how even seemingly mundane communications between administration officials, such as what news articles they pass to each other, would be of high interest to foreign intelligence agencies trying to build a picture of the new administration.

This is not the first time Kushner and other aides have been in hot water over poor security practices. According to Politico, then press secretary Sean Spicer had to warn communications staffers back in February to stop using encrypted apps like Signal. Kushner failed to disclose multiple meetings with Russian contacts on government forms he signed and submitted to receive his security clearance, an offense over which Democrats and even some of Trump’s lawyers reportedly said he should resign.

During his presidential campaign, Trump’s talking points against Clinton focused heavily on her use of a private email account when she was Secretary of State, leading to the now infamous phrase, “Lock her up!”